Sia – Bird Set Free
Taylor slid into the backseat of Hank's car and looked at the screen of her phone as it vibrated in her hand. Connor slid in beside her and glanced over at the screen just as she declined the call. "Harleen Quinzel?"
"You really are insufferably nosy, you know that?" Connor looked at her in alarm, but she was grinning up at him, her eyes twinkling. He turned away and she laughed at his sudden embarrassment. "Your cheeks are blue! Are you blushing?"
"I do not blush." Taylor nodded, still grinning as she turned back to her phone. Alex had forwarded her the video that was circulating the internet of her shouting match with Michael Brinkley and subsequent storming off the set. With a sigh, she opened it. Connor was peering over her shoulder again as it played. The video lasted less than two minutes but it certainly felt longer.
"Did you cuss out that prick on the news?" She glanced up to see that Hank was looking at her in the rearview. He looked amused, and when she nodded, he said, "Good for you. That guy is an asshole."
"That's what Captain Fowler said too." She said with a laugh. "Except now I have to deal with the consequences."
"Anything worth doing has consequences." Hank said dismissively. "Especially telling people to fuck off."
Taylor laughed again, nodding in agreement. Silence settled over the car, penetrated only by Connor's intermittent directions. "Hey Hank?" He glanced up at her in the rearview again as he turned the car into the parking lot of the apartment building that was their destination. "Thanks. For worrying about me."
The lieutenant grunted in response and exited the car without another word. Taylor followed, smiling. Connor explained that the tip came from an upper floor, so they all climbed into the elevator and rode up in silence. Hank led the way as they stepped out, Taylor right behind him, but they both paused when they realized Connor wasn't following. He was standing in the elevator, eyes closed, LED a solid yellow circle.
"Hey, Connor!" The android opened his eyes, LED fading back to blue. "You run out of batteries or what?"
"I'm sorry, I was making a report to CyberLife." He trailed them down the hallway.
"What do we know about this guy?" Hank asked.
"Not much, just that the neighbor reported that he heard strange noises coming from this floor. Nobody is supposed to be living here, but the neighbor said he saw a man hiding a LED under his cap." Connor responded.
"Oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops." Hank grumbled as he approached the door. Connor was looking at some feathers in the hallway, his head tilted to the side, and didn't reply. "Hey, were you really making a report back there in the elevator? Just by closing your eyes?"
"Correct," Connor nodded as he stepped up beside them, adjusting his tie.
"Shit, I wish I could do that." Hank said, causing Taylor to snort. Connor knocked on the apartment door. They waited a pause, but there was no response. Connor looked over to the lieutenant, who just shrugged, so the android knocked harder. Still nothing.
"Open up! Detroit Police!" Connor shouted. This time they were answered by a crash from somewhere in the apartment trailed by the sound of metal scraping on wood. Silence followed, the three exchanging glances while Hank drew his gun. He stepped toward the door and nodded for Connor to get behind him. The android complied, moving Taylor behind him as Hank kicked open the door.
They went down the hallway in a line. Taylor peeked into the rooms as she walked behind Hank and Connor, taking in the oddly drawn labyrinths that decorated the walls. Hank reached the end of the hallway and kicked down the next door, cursing as a scatter of pigeons flew at his face. He was still cursing when Taylor peered around Connor and into the room.
There were pigeons everywhere, and judging by the smell, they'd been living in the apartment for a while. Apart from their intermittent cooing, the apartment was quiet. Hank lowered his gun and they began to search the apartment for clues.
"Looks like we came here for nothing. Our man's gone." Hank said as he put the gun away and opened a window. Connor opened the closet and more pigeons assaulted him, causing the android to duck. "Found something?"
Connor was peeling back a poster on the wall. He pulled out a notebook and flipped through it. "I don't know. It looks like a notebook, but it's... indecipherable."
Taylor opened the fridge, but there was no food to be found. "It definitely seems like an android lives here."
"What's with all the pigeons?" Hank asked, turning away from the window. Taylor was watching Connor as he picked over the things on the floor, so it took her a few moments to realize the older detective was directing the question at her. His blue eyes were fixed on her, waiting on a response. She blinked in surprise.
She glanced around the apartment again as Connor pointed out the initials on the jacket, considering. "Imagine for a minute that you didn't have a childhood." Hank furrowed his brow but didn't interrupt. "Androids who go deviant are suddenly self-aware, and a lot of them struggle with what to do with themselves." She gestured around them. "Some deviants become fixated or obsessive on one thing. They have a hard time finding their individualism, their reason for being alive."
Hank frowned but didn't respond.
"rA9 written 2471 times." Connor's voice came from the tiny bathroom adjacent to the room they were standing in. Taylor squeezed in behind him and glanced around at the repetitive writing. "Why are they obsessed with this sign?"
"LED in the sink." She tilted her head toward the formerly blue ring resting in the porcelain. Connor glanced over at it, his own LED flashing yellow. Then he turned back toward the living space and knelt by the toppled birdcage on the floor.
"Birdseed. I can't believe it, this nutjob was actually feeding these fuckers." Hank was still looking around at all the bird droppings covering the floor in disgust. Connor stood once more, turning his head toward the hole in the ceiling, his LED still swirling yellow. Taylor and Hank were both watching him carefully now, knowing he must be on to something.
As Connor stepped closer to the gap, the deviant suddenly jumped down, knocking the other android to the ground before he fled. The sudden commotion made the pigeons in the room explode in a flurry of activity, earning another round of cursing from Hank while Connor regained his footing.
"What are you waiting for? Chase it!" The android didn't need to be told twice; he took off running in pursuit of the deviant and Taylor followed him, leaving Hank waving his arms at the fluttering birds.
The blonde spotted both androids cutting through wheat fields as soon as she hit the roof. She knew they were faster than her, but she ran a 5k every morning and she had enough endurance to keep up, so she took the safe route around the edge of the farm and kept them in her sights. It was likely that the deviant was going to eventually circle back around so she tried to figure out a way to cut it off, especially when she saw the two of them hopping on the train. She wasn't that crazy.
There was a corn field ahead, and she could see Hank running behind her now, so she waved toward it. The lieutenant was already on it though, and they both headed in that direction. As the two of them ran along the edge, the deviant suddenly burst out, shoving into Hank before running off.
"Shit! Hank!" Taylor skidded to a stop and threw herself forward, grabbing Hank's arm. She may have been fast, but she certainly wasn't strong enough to pull him back over the ledge. They were staring at each other in wide-eyed horror until Connor reached over Taylor's shoulder and grabbed Hank's other arm, easily lifting him back over the side.
Taylor stumbled back and felt Connor's hand on her back, steadying her. "It's my fault, Lieutenant. I should have been faster," he was saying to Hank, who was completely ignoring him as he stared at the blonde.
"This is exactly why you shouldn't be on the crime scene."
"What? I'm fine! You almost got shoved off the roof." She retorted. They glared at each other for a beat before Hank groaned and walked off. He paused, turning back to look at Connor.
"Hey, Connor..." The lieutenant hesitated as the two looked up at him and shook his head. "Never mind." He turned and left.
"I think he was going to say thank you. He's starting to like you," Taylor smiled up at the android. He blinked back at her, his LED flickering to yellow, before they both seemed to realize at the same moment how close they were still standing. Connor dropped his hand from her back and stepped away.
"I'm not so sure about that." He said uncertainly. Taylor reached out and touched his forearm, drawing his gaze back up to her face.
"I am," She smiled again. "Just keep at it."
Connor glanced down at her fingers and back to her eyes, his LED whirring to yellow before he nodded. She pulled her hand back and stared at him for a moment before she said, "Are you doing anything tonight?"
As soon as the words left her lips, her whole face flushed red. Connor tilted his head as he watched her flounder for something to say, looking at everything but him. "I meant that I have this party that Alex wants me to go to. For charity. If you want to come. It could be fun. It will probably be horrible and boring, but it might be fun."
"I'm not." Taylor looked up, meeting his eyes again. "Doing anything, I mean. Assuming there are no new deviant cases."
This time when Taylor smiled at him, her whole face lit up. "Great! Since it seems like Hank left us here, let's go meet the stylist."